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Wartime Captivity
Prisoner-taking has been a phenomenon of war since antiquity. It was, however, the First World War that witnessed the advent of mass captivity. The fate of civilian internees and prisoners of war is no longer a marginal topic within the history of war and warfare. The experiences of POWs and civilian internees is central to understanding the era of total war. Our staff are interested in examining the treatment and experiences of civilian and military captives in wartime. This includes the development of international law, diplomatic relations, and captor policy. They are also interested in exploring how wartime captivity led to fraternisation and cross-cultural encounters. Our staff have researched Axis POWs in Britain and the internment of enemy aliens in British India during and after the Second World War. Malpass, A. (2019). ‘Disastrous’ and ‘Detrimental’: The National Union of Agricultural Workers’ Complaints against the Employment of Axis Prisoners of War, 1939-1948. History, 104(363), 890–910. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-229X.12919 Malpass, A. (2020). British character and the treatment of German prisoners of war, 1939-48. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48915-1 Malpass, A. (2023). Civilian internment in the Raj: Central and family internment camps c.1939-43. In Carr, G. & Pistol R. (eds.) British Internment and the Internment of Britons: Second World War Camps, History and Heritage (pp. 221-238). Bloomsbury. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350266285.ch-013 Cover Image: LIBERATION OF EUROPE: CAPTURED IN FRANCE. 18 JUNE 1944, PLYMOUTH. GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR TAKEN IN THE BEACHHEAD ARRIVE AT A BRITISH PORT EN ROUTE FOR PRISONER OF WAR CAMPS. © IWM (A 24214) -
BGU thanked for “gorgeous review”
Canadian writer Jordan Scott, winner of awards across Germany, Japan, China, Holland and Italy, has contacted BGU to thank us for a review of his book that appeared in the March edition of our library newsletter, The Four Corners. The review is by our PGCE English subject lead Dr Clare Lawrence and highlights the way his book I talk like a river addresses the issue of dysfluency, especially for pupils. “I’m a huge fan of classroom talk”, Clare confirms. “I stress to my PGCE students how discussions, debates, even disagreements are powerful elements of active learning. However, we must also be sensitive to the fact that for some pupils, speaking is not the most accessible form of communication”. Associate Professor Clare Lawrence has a strong research interest in ’giving voice’ to those who are underheard or underrepresented. “It isn’t those who shout the loudest who always have the most to say”, she suggests. “Jordan Scott articulates so powerfully in his book the experience of living with a stutter. Ultimately, his communication is both stronger and richer for having to overcome a barrier”. Jordan emailed the university to share his appreciation for what he described as a “gorgeous review”, adding, “I ever get around to visiting the UK I'll make sure to let you know”. You can read Clare’s article on page 16 of Volume 5 Issue 1 of Four Corners, which can be accessed here. -
An interview with Ann Osbourne
Me at home, in a relaxed environment in a state of contentment and gratitude. SP: Thank you for making the time to talk to me this afternoon. It would be great if you could tell us a bit more about your background in equality work. AO: I got involved with equality work through my last Chambers (the offices where barristers work). We worked on opening access to the Bar through mentoring, young people probably from around 15 or 16 years old to encourage them to start thinking about careers at the Bar (i.e. becoming a Barrister) and wider careers in law with the idea that we would mentor them through A levels and university - a commitment of five years. I thought that the scheme would be an important thing to do because of my own experiences at that age group of being told what you can and can't do. I wanted to circumvent that message and say you can choose not to accept that. All the students came from inner city schools in the most deprived areas of London, were on free school meals and they would be the first in their family to go to university. I ended up mentoring a very bright young woman, who was 15 years old when I first met her. It was a pleasure seeing her development from that 15-year-old through to the confident accomplished young woman she became at 23 years old starting her first graduate job. This was a young person who had not thought of going to university until she was accepted into the scheme, let alone thinking of Oxbridge. She ended up going to Cambridge. That was a world away from anything she'd even considered. SP: Reflecting on your own experience, did you have an easy access through education? AO: My early education was without difficulty but when I was in high school, I remember being told that I was overly ambitious. It was the first time that I had odd experience in education. I thought, overly ambitious - isn't that what a 13- or 14-year-old should be? SP: What was it you wanted to do that that made them say that? AO: I said I wanted to be a Barrister. I knew that I wanted to be a barrister at age 7. When I said that I wanted to be a barrister, I suppose that that teacher said ‘you're overly ambitious’ because in her mind, I didn't seem to set the world alight. She had their own narrative about my intellect and where I should be, and in that narrative, it wasn't here. I told my parents and they said, you ‘don't let other people tell you what you can and can't do - you define yourself.’ My second and perhaps most difficult experience arose at the end of my second year of my A levels, when the head of 6th called me into her office and she said, ‘People like you don't go to University of London Colleges- how dare the likes of you apply’. She wanted me to write a withdrawal letter to UCAS, I refused. She then said ‘Well, it doesn't matter if you don't withdraw it, because with the recommended grades I've put down for you, you will never get in.’ She opened her desk drawer, pulled out a piece of paper and slung it across the desk at me and where I had been predicted a grade B, she had written D. I walked away from that in tears, and I thought ‘Well that's her opinion. I'm going to keep pressing on’. I remember her saying ‘You can't do it. People like you don't become Barristers, and even if you manage to get through, it will take you years.’ I replied, ‘People like me do become Barristers, because my father is one and he also happens to have the same skin colour that I do, so I know that people like me do make it.’ I knew that both he and his friends were examples of people like me doing it. That experience left me with a sense that if my parents hadn't told me I could make it, and if I didn't keep hearing that message at home, I would have stopped it in my tracks. How many other young people are told ‘no’ at school? ‘no’ at home and ‘no’ when they step out into the wider world? I had to develop this blind, almost crazy self-belief of I'll get there, it doesn't matter what you say, I'll get there. So that is the reason for my commitment to mentoring these young people. If you can't see it, how do you do it? Seeing someone like me walking into that school and saying ‘Well, here I am’ it helps to challenge those assumptions. Some minority children, who they may not immediately scream ‘genius’ but given the right tools and right opportunity, suddenly they blossom and given a bit of direction can achieve amazing things. They're not even given that opportunity. So, all those things force me to continue that process of mentoring, young women coming through the legal professional, mentoring Black female students. Going into schools so they can see we exist, we are here, and we are here in increasing number. SP: You've talked about your home life as a significant influence. Who else would you identify as inspirational figure? Who else has inspired you to think there is no ceiling to my abilities. AO: I've had two amazing parents. So, my mother who as a young woman was an incredibly feisty character – ‘Don't tell her no;’ she was not going to be dissuaded from doing the things that she set her mind to, and she did not have the benefit of a continuous education. She grew up in a fee-paying system during colonialism and she to wait and to go to secondary school after her older sister. She always wanted to get a degree but selflessly she supported first her husband and then her children with their education and careers taking the back seat. And amongst all of that, the constant refrain from her was ‘don't let other people tell you no, don't let other people tell you that you can't do it.’ And she would only get cross if she thought you let someone else tell you what you could do. She did get her degree and became a lay reader, the first woman to be made a lay reader and was subsequently ordained as a Deacon at the cathedral church in Antigua and then at 65 to be priested (i.e. ordained as a Priest) in the Church of England. That wasn't her plan, but the opportunity came, and she took it. I have great admiration for her. So, I try to say ‘yes’ to things because you never know where it can lead. Those are my key role models. SP: Your mother clearly achieved several academic and professional goals and the thing that seems to be the persistent thread is this idea of integrity, endeavour, and idea of excellence. How have those ideas affected your value set? AO: For me, when I put myself in the position of doing something I either don't do it because I know I can't do it (and I'll have the humility to say I can't) or I put my soul into it because I think part of the integrity is knowing a what your limits are, but also recognising if someone has entrusted you to do something, do it to the very best of your ability. SP: So how did effectiveness integrity impact on you? AO: While it created a certain fuel to keep striving forward it gave me a larger sense of imposter syndrome and when I finally got to that point, I wondered ‘Do I really belong here? Could I really do those things? Am I a bit deluded?.’ That can be so crippling, and I had to pull back to that point of the girl with that blind self-belief. I needed to be that person again. So, the challenge now is, how far can I go? Because I know that there are others who come behind me and they need to believe they can do it too. SP: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today and to share your thoughts and insights. I am sure we will be in touch again. -
Sandford Award Winners 2024
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), in partnership with the Heritage Education Trust and supported by Historic Royal Palaces, is thrilled to announce the winners of the prestigious 2024 Sandford Award. -
BGU’s proposed autism art club
BGU is applying for Wave 2 funding through the Lincolnshire Virtual Autism Hub to set up a monthly art club for autistic people. -
Claudia McKibbin
Claudia McKibbin is a Business Lecturer. She holds an LLB in Law and a Master of Arts in Middle East Policy Studies from the University of Exeter. She also holds a Master of Arts in International Relations recognised by the Universidade de Brasília. Her experience includes teaching in both Portuguese and English, developing professionals, content creation, coaching and mentoring, and learner capability analysis. Claudia’s areas of interest and expertise include EDI, Strategy and Risk Management, International Business, Continuous Improvement in Industry, Project Management, Law and Policy Compliance, Leadership and Management, Human Resources Management, Organisational Development, L&D, Conflict Resolution, and Cultural Intelligence. Claudia is a member of the Chartered Management Institute, works as a freelance consultant and has experience working within both public and private sector companies. Notably, Claudia worked as a Contracts Manager at an engineering firm in the USA, as an Executive Officer and Continuous Improvement Specialist within the steel industry in Brazil, and most recently as a Strategic Business Partner at a Lincolnshire NHS Trust. Alongside her role as lecturer, Claudia supports the Lincolnshire Open Research & Innovation Centre (LORIC) as a Business Research Associate with projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Outside of academia, Claudia teaches Latin and Ballroom dancing, and enjoys spending time with her family. -
A response to Sir Martyn Oliver’s comments regarding flexi-schooling (5th December 2024)
Flexi-schooling – the practice where parents choose to home educate their children for part of the week – has come under scrutiny by Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty's Chief Inspector for OFSTED. He reported at an online briefing last week that he was not aware of the prevalence of this practice before taking the helm at the inspectorate earlier this year, and said that he is “very concerned” about it. Recent research (Griffin et al., 2025, in press) suggests that this practice is especially prevalent amongst children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and accepts that there are significant gaps in understanding rationales, organisation and outcomes of the arrangements for these children. Previous literature (Lawrence, 2012; Lawrence, 2016; Lawrence, 2017; Lawrence, 2018) has explored flexi-schooling as an option for parents of autistic children specifically. There remains considerable confusion around the circumstances of flexi-schooling. The Department for Education (DfE) guidance on the approach is issued through publication regarding elective home education, implying that flexi-schooling is typically sought where home educating children are introduced to an element of formal schooling to ‘ensure the provision in specific subjects is satisfactory’ (DfE 2019a). However, as a recent scoping review (Paxman, 2022) suggests, ‘this is but one scenario; the DfE does not describe situations where a child already enrolled in school is granted a flexi-schooling arrangement and where learning is predominantly school-based’ (p. 4). Mary Warnock, that great advocate for inclusion in education, conceded in 2004 that true inclusion in mainstream school for many children with SEN has not been possible and may rather result in a painful form of exclusion. Indeed, evidence shows that mainstream schooling is ‘failing to meet the needs of a great number of children with SEN’ (Paxman, 2022 p. 5). In deciding to flexi-school, parents may be making a desperate response to their child’s needs (Lawrence, 2018), articulated as a way to reduce their child’s distress, to support individual learning needs and to ensure that their child’s childhood is not wasted (Lawrence, 2018). There is, indeed, as Sir Oliver suggests, urgent and overdue need for scrutiny of flexi-schooling. There is also similar urgent and overdue need to address an education system in this country that leads parents to make this serious and difficult decision. -
Student teachers visit UK Parliament to explore parts of primary national curriculum
The intention of the trip was to develop our students understanding of teaching Fundamental British Values. -
EDI Week 2025
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Week at BGU is an annual event aimed at raising awareness and promoting understanding of the importance of equal rights and opportunities in education. -
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Week 2025: In review
Purposed to be a collaborative effort to support trainee teachers’ professional commitment to equality in education.
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